Last week ColorOfChange was named one of the world’s most innovative organizations by Fast Company Magazine “for creating a civil rights group for the 21st century.” Here’s the write-up. We’re #6 on the list between Instagram and HBO.

I’m floored and humbled by this honor, and frankly a bit embarrassed because so much of our work is done in coalition, with incredible partners across the country — we don’t stand alone.

This honor belongs to you: our members. Without you ColorOfChange wouldn’t exist and we certainly wouldn’t be able to innovate in the civil rights space.

ColorOfChange started in 2005 when we realized that no organization was equipped to quickly and creatively lift up the voices of Black folks in moments of crisis. We saw this play out in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when whole Black communities were abandoned by our government.

The invisibility of Black people in our media and political system was a matter of life-and-death then. And we’ve seen this play out many times in the ten years since. From the endemic police violence that our communities face to the lack of access to a living wage.

In the early days ColorOfChange consisted of a few people with their laptops, guided by the vision of our founders: James Rucker, Heidi Hess, and Van Jones. We didn’t have much except for a passion to act and a model of organizing we knew could help lift up Black voices.

Today ColorOfChange is over 1 million members strong. We’ve come a long way. When we reach out to corporations or politicians with our concerns, they pay attention. And if they don’t, we know what levers to pull to force their hand. And if still that doesn’t work, then we innovate and escalate with new tactics and strategies.

The work we do is in service of you – our community – and in service of Black folks from coast-to-coast. Thank you for being part of our journey.

Fast Company’s “Most Innovative” issue hits newsstands this week. Check it out and share it with your friends and family. And if you’re able to, chip in to our innovation fund.

We recently hired a Director of Product who’s going to help overhaul ColorOfChange’s website and online tools. If we can raise $50,000 this month, we’ll have the resources we need to make important updates to our campaigning platform, which is how you – our members – engage in our civil rights campaigns. Will you contribute?

Yes, I’ll chip in $1 to ColorOfChange’s 2015 Innovation Fund.

In 2014, a movement spread across the country using both technology and direct action to lift up that #BlackLivesMatter. This movement has shown us that we not only need to agitate harder, but also faster and smarter to achieve the victories that our communities deserve.

This Fast Company honor isn’t just a recognition of one organization. It’s a recognition of what we’ve been able to accomplish together. It’s a recognition of how we came together to fight for justice for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and too many others; and how we refused to back down in the face of grave injustice.

In 2015 we continue these and many other fights.

Onwards,

Rashad